Rains Co.TX The Emory Cyclone
Taken from the Greenville Banner--no dateDead and Wounded Number Over Seventy-five Souls.
At 7:30 Saturday afternoon a cyclone passed over Emory, the county seat of Rains County, thirty miles south of Greenville, totally demolishing the western portion of the town.
The news reached this city about 8 oclock and an urgent request was sent by wire that all the physicians who could do so would hasten to the scene of the storm as their assistance would be greatly needed.
The Banner was notified and a special freight left at 9 oclock, and Drs. Milner, Garnett and Speaks, together with the newspaper reporters left for the scene of wreck and ruin.
At Lone Oak a number of men got on the train. Among them was a Mr. Hudspeth who had come up to Lone Oak from Emory after the storm. The town of Lone Oak was wild with excite-ment, and a clamorous crowd tried to get on the train, but the conductor would not allow them.
At Emory an anxious and grief-laden delegation met the train and on all sides were heard the story of some unfor-tunate family whose home, house-hold goods and all worldly possessions had been swept away by the furious winds, besides grief-told stories of mangled children, wives and daughters that made strong men tremble as they talked.
In a deluging rain the reporters and physicians hurried to the post office drug store where a dozen unfortunates lay on stretchers, while the physicians were busy bandaging, plastering and sewing up wounds and administering opiates to relieve the suffering of the victims of the cyclone.
On one stretcher lay a mother, maimed, bruised and bleeding. On another, a child with limbs lacerated and maimed for life. On another an old man, bowed down with the weight of three-score years lay sobbing with the excruciating pains that opiates would not soothe. Commingled together was an eager, anxious, curious crowd; some, relations of the suffering ones; some, careless bystanders looking on the bloody scene to gratify a morbid curios-ity; and others employing their time diligently to aid physicians in their work toward relieving suffering humanity.
It was a scene to make strong hearts quail and strong wills tremble, and one that will never be forgotten by those who chanced is see it.
The Dead.
Miss Easter Alexander, a young lady about 18 years of age, was found dead under the debris of a house.
Bras. Henry, a clerk in Henry & Peebles store, was found dead near the walls of a store building.
George Walker, a carpenter, was found dead in the debris of the wrecked Johnson boarding house.
The 4-year-old son of Henry Murray, colored, residing one and a half miles southeast of town, was killed by the falling walls of the house.
The Wounded.
Mrs. Rachel Campbell, head badly cut; internally injured.
Wm. Campbell, severe cut in back of head.
Tiny Campbell, face badly lascer-ated. Internally injured.
Lou Campbell, arm broken. Inter-nally injured.
Little Sammie Campbell was blown seventy-five yards and escaped appar-ently unhurt, the only member of the family at home that was not seriously injured.
Little Bessie Campbell, eyes cut and facial wounds.
Mrs. Mollie Johnson, head badly cut. Injured internally.
Tom Parson, section foreman on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, was blown a distance of 300 yards. He was picked up near the Masonic building with four ribs broken and otherwise injured.
Fred Cooke, a young man stopping at Judge Lamms was badly injured by falling timbers and left in a demented condition. Fears are entertained for his safety.
Bessie Rhodes, arm broken and body bruised.
J.B. Allen, blown 100 yards, badly bruised about the face and body. Inter-nally injured and thought that he will die.
Joshua Quarles was badly bruised- up and Mrs. Quarles had an arm broken.
Mrs. Ed. Morris, arm broken and body badly bruised.
Mrs. Judge Lamm had an arm broken and was bodily bruised.
Mrs. I.C. Alexander, arm broken, collar bone and her body otherwise seriously injured. Her injuries are not thought to be dangerous.
Two little boys and girls in Mr. I.C. Alexanders family escaped unhurt.
Mary Perry, a Negro woman, had an arm broken and a gash cut in her left cheek.
Sam Perry, a Negro, deep gash cut in his back near the spinal column.
An unknown man was found on Texas Street unconscious and badly hurt.
Grandma Pierson, aged 70, mother of Mr. M.S. Pierson, had a long and deep gash cut near her right temple. Her side is painfully cut also. Grave fears for her recovery are entertained on account of her extreme old age.
Mrs. Maggie Pierson, hurt internally. Her head was badly cut, and several of her ribs were broken. It is thought that her injuries will prove fatal.
The two little children of Mr. and Mrs. Pierson were badly hurt. Several large pieces of timber were found on their bodies. There isnt much hope for their recovery.
Judge Rhodes residence was destroyed, and his little girl badly crippled. No other member of the family was hurt. The property was valued at something over $1000.
Property damaged.
The storm came from the south, or a little southwest. The danger line was Texas Street, running north and south. Everything west of that street was demol-ished, while to the east of it, nothing was harmed.
Wm. Greens residence was demol-ished.
Joshua Quarles residence was blown to atoms.
Ed Norris residence was a total wreck.
M.A. Markowitz store was blown down and the stock of goods destroyed.
J.M. Cliftons residence and house-hold goods were blown away.
The Crandall cotton gin was a total wreck.
The Pierson gin was totally destroyed.
Tom Proctors furniture store was demolished and the furniture scattered all over town.
Wm. Campbells residence was destroyed.
Dr. Kimbroughs residence was blown away.
J.W. Northcutts dwelling was wrecked.
Dr. Kimbroughs drug store was blown down in front.
Peebles & Henrys store house and stock was badly wrecked and damaged.
Oscar Dicks saloon was caught on the southwest corner, and blown in a thousand directions. The entire building was a total wreck. The bar and all the fixtures were totally destroyed. As it happened, there were but a couple of people in the building at the time, one of whom was Mr. Dick, who received very painful injuries internally. The other man escaped unhurt.
H.C. Fouts handsome new resi-dence, which was nearing completion, was destroyed. The house was valued at $1500, and was untenanted.
Jack Sanders blacksmith shop destroyed, value $250.
J.A. Henrys house was blown off the blocks and badly damaged. None of the occupants of the building were hurt.
A.M. Hays residence was torn to pieces. None of the occupants injured. Damage, $1250.
Sheriff Lamms residence is a total wreck. The family were all in one room, and Mrs. Lamm was seriously injured, while her husband escaped unhurt. Their little son, Earnest, received a bad gash in the forehead from a falling piece of timber. The loss to property is estimated at $1250.
Judge W.H. Teagues residence was a total wreck. The entire family were in the building during the storm, but fortu-nately all escaped unhurt.
The Masonic building, two stories high, is a total wreck. When the crash came the heavy sills from this building were carried half way across the public square. Loss estimated at $1500.
Four Negro cabins one mile north of the town were blown away, not even a shingle being left as a slight token of a sudden farewell.
The roof of R. Gilmores residence was lifted up and set about seventy-five yards away. None of the family were injured.
Mrs. Rose Turners house was destroyed.
The grocery store of J.W. Northcutt & Co. was wrecked.
Judge Rhodes store was left stand-ing, but outhouses, fences, orchards, etc. left no trace behind them. The house itself was a few feet out of the course of the storm and escaped injury.
The Funnel Cloud.
Dr. Adams, a local physician at Emory, in describing the storm to a Banner reporter said: I heard the noise of the storm and looked out. I saw the cloud approaching from the south-west. It was in the shape of an hour-glass, like two funnels set together point to point. The bottom of it was forked, and it was one continual blaze of electric-ity. It had the rotary cyclone motion, and seemed about 30 or 40 feet wide. I dont think it struck the ground till it was north of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas depot and for that reason I do not apprehend any damage done by it south of Emory.
J.A. Hudspeth, a barber, said: I was lathering a man and heard the noise, as the rumbling of an approach-ing train. I had been in two cyclones, one Grenada, Miss., and the other in Oklahoma City, and I knew what was coming. I dropped my lather and brush and ran out of the shop to the middle of the street, where I grabbed a post and hung on till the trouble was over.
Joe Gordon, a tie maker, said: I had only been in Emory two days and was in my room in the Johnson hotel. I heard the noise and looking up saw the cloud. I told my partner we were gone, and about that time it struck us. I was raked over and over, lifted, pushed and hauled for about seventy-five yards, and thought my time was up, but finally landed in a mud puddle safe and sound. The cloud looked like two funnels placed point to point and seemed about thirty feet wide. It traveled from south-west to northeast.
It was a mixed crowd that Conductor Whitledge took out on the 11 oclock special Sunday to the scene of destruc-tion. All classes of people, from the prominent citizen to the curious boy, and various were the objects of their going. Some went to gratify a curious desire to view the place where a terrible monster had spread death, ruin and devastation; others to do what they could towards aiding the unfortunate, and others as carriers of comfort for the suffering ones. About 100 passengers swelled the crowd at Lone Oak, filling the three coaches of the train to over-flowing. In all, 532 people from Greenville, Lone Oak and Mineola were in Emory Sunday. Among the crowd were several ladies, who rendered effi-cient aid where they found it needed. Arriving at Emory, one had only to open ones eyes to see the awful results of Saturday nights cyclone.
Standing amid the wreckage and debris of the ruins it was hard to even contemplate what must have been the force of the terrible monster to leave behind it such a scene.
Great oaks that stood the storms of centuries were uprooted and carried from the spot where they grew. Trees twisted into splinters and robbed of every semblance of branches bore grave record to the fury of the wind. Shrub-bery was torn from the ground, leaving it as smooth as a fresh swept carpet. Fences and fence posts removed and scattered in heaps over the fields and public highways. Houses razed to the ground and no sign of their former exis-tence left, save a barren spot on the ground. Public roads and highways blockaded by the debris of buildings, uprooted trees and demolished fences. Farm wagons were blown from their wheels and carried perhaps half a mile from their owners farm. Bedclothes, small bits of furniture and small animals lodged in trees half a mile from where they were picked up by the storm. Cisterns that were filled with water sucked dry. Chickens stripped of their feathers and cattle and other stock dead and mangled could be seen on all sides in the track of the storm.
A strip 100 yards wide and four miles long marks the cyclones track and all along it is a track of death and devas-tation. No living thing within its scope escaped without injury and no building had strength to withstand its power. Its trail is marked by ruin everywhere which no artists brush can picture and no gifted pen describe.
In contemplating it under a calm sky and a serene nature, beautiful under the sunlight, the soul is stirred by the conflicting emotions, and it is looking on such scenes and contemplating such disasters that inspiration flushes and blanches the check by turns, and as the eye follows the path of the mighty monster the brain is set a-whirl in a vain endeavor to think of language that would fittingly paint a pen picture that would in a partial degree do the matter justice.
To the people of Emory that one terrible moment will live as long as life lasts, and the acts of self-sacrificing and sympathetic friends and neighbors will always be remembered by the suffering ones.
How the wounded are faring.
The Campbell family, who are supposed to be the worst injured, are at the hotels and every possible attention being given them, but it is feared that some of them will not survive. The little boy, Sammie, whose skull was fractured and head badly lacerated, is not expected to live. The little girl Tiny is also badly injured and may die.
The Pearson family are doing very well with the exception of the old lady who is injured internally.
Sheriff Lamms wife was moved to Mr. J.F. Pearsons and is now resting easy, her wounds are not necessarily fatal.
The scene at Mr. Pearsons was indeed a sorrowful one where anxious friends grouped on the bed and minis-tered to the wants of the wounded.
Fred Cook who was injured in the wrecking of Sheriff Lamms house, is up and not much the worse off for his terri-ble shock.
The daughter of Mrs. Alexander who received severe injuries in the back and whose arm and collar bone were broken is resting easy.
T.U. Parsons who received consider-able bruises about the head and broken ribs is doing as well s could be expected.
Mrs. Alexander is doing very well.
Berry Williams, colored, and wife, who lived at Dr. Kimbroughs, were badly hurt. Berry has severe wounds on the back of his head, and also body bruises. His wife has a broken arm and several bruises.
After considerable inquiry it was ascertained that the rumor of the three deaths in the Jackson settlement was a mistake. One child was killed and six houses were blown away was all the damage in the immediate neighborhood.
Several houses in the south or south-eastern portion of the county were blown away. No deaths reported.
The Prairie Grove church northwest of town was destroyed. This leaves the Methodists on Emory circuit in a bad shape. Two churches were blown away and Presiding Elder Stafford, who was down there at the time of the storm, says he fears that the Miller Grove church was also destroyed.
The ladies aid society of the M.E. church at Emory had just purchased a fine organ for the church. The wind after touching the keys gently and playing a few notes of a tender melody upon it, lifted it up, shook it once, and about all they ever found of it was two keys and a piece of music.
Peculiar Points.
Various were the observations of different people before and after the cyclone passed, but what they saw in the short time the fury was upon them no one can describe. The storm, contrary to what was first reported, came from the southeast. All say they heard it coming for some minutes before it reached them. Several saw the monster as it made its terrible descent, and what they saw no pen can ever describe. There were many curious features connected with it, and many were the curious experiences of those who were unfortunate enough to be in its path.
Forgetting for awhile the many sorrowful and heart rendering experi-ences, there were several amusing ones connected with it. Mr. M.A. Markowitz, a gentleman of Abrahamie descent, gave the reporter a detailed account of his actions during the general panic, and at the same time he unknowingly preached a good sermon. He said: I vas coming from supper, and ven I got to the squvare I hear the doggondest roaring that I ever see. I stopped and looked around to see vat the matter vas. I see that ting coming. It looked like to me that a tousaud steam engines was a-puffing fire and smoke. I looked at that ting for a second, and then I says: Markowitz, your time has come. I started for the middle of the squvare to lay myself flat down, but I heard a noise in the saloon and I vent in dere. About that time the ting come down. I knows no more till I finds myself in mine store, seventy-five yards up the street. I vas cool all the time as I am right now, but I could tell you tings that happened a tousand years ago just so easy as I could tell you about dot saloon ven it commenced, and I know that I was in mine store ven it vas over. How I got there I knows nothing about. I found mine hat in the saloon next morning, and that is a good sign that I was dere. If I did not gone into that saloon, I vould not have got hurt. I goes not about dot saloon some more.
On the northwest corner of the square where several store rooms were damaged, a row of salt barrels lay. The roof of the store building alongside of them had been lifted and one of the rafters taken out and driven through the barrel, protruding about two feet on the opposite side. The rafter is wedged so tight in the barrel that human strength cannot move it. None of the other barrels were damaged, and every other rafter in the roof is in tact.
Ben Huckabay and Will Quarles removed a pile of brick and debris from a turkey gobbler and found him unhurt, save a mashed toe. He was covered two feet in the brick and ruins of a cottage.
Mr. Green had a storm house ten feet square in which thirty people crowded when they saw the cloud approaching. The house was directly in the path of the storm but was undam-aged. Mr. Greens dwelling was blown to splinters and a rafter blew part of the way through the storm house, frighten-ing the occupants almost to death.
A number of chickens were found with all their feathers blown away. They appeared almost exactly like Aultman, Miller & Cos. threshing machine trade mark.
A trunk at I.C. Alexanders residence had its lid blown off and set down in the ruins of the house. The trunk has not yet been found. While Mr. Alexanders house was blown completely from the face of the earth, the sewing machine in the family room was set down undamaged.
A stove belonging to Mr. Green was blown five miles north of Emory and set down on the ground with no damage done to it save the breaking of two legs. Not even a lid was lost.
M.B. Huddleston, a tiemaker, who is a recent arrival from Marmaduke, Ark., received a few bruises, and when approached by a reporter to learn the extent of his injuries, said: No, I am not much hurt. One of arms, as you see, is in a sling, and I cant use the other one. I also got a lick in the back, but I dont think that my legs are hurt too bad for me to walk out of this country at once. They always told me that his Satanic majesty was the king of demons. Well, young man, I saw him and about all his angels last night. He is loose in Texas, and Im going back to Arkansas.
J.S. Allen, whose head looked as if it had been to mill, said: I had just bought me a new pair of jeans pants the evening before. Where are they now, did you say? Well, it would be hard to tell; I reckon part of them are in New York by this time if they kept up the gait they had on when they left me. I had to borrow a pair from a friend before I could appear in public. It left me the waistband and pockets, but blew my pocket-book away.
The reporter did not see the remains of Mr. Allens pants, but he believed his story to be true, as he saw a chicken minus its feathers as a result of its contact with the wind. This may appear to be a remarkable tale, but Col. C.H. Yoakum, R.C. Dial and several others will bear witness that it is true.
Outside of the track of the storm stands a large old house that held an attraction for sight-seers and those looking up the curious phases of the event. The house stood about seventy-five yards for the nearest place where the storm did much damage, and a large sliver of timber about six or eight feet long struck the side of the house, knocked a hole in the wall, glanced off, went through the gallery floor and struck in ground under the floor.
The people of Greenville who went down on the special contributed freely for the relief of the destitute. One place in particular, where a whole family were injured, some of them fatally, presented such a sight of suffering and misery that the hearts of the visitors were so touched that they promptly contributed to the full extent of their ability for their relief.
At the Greenville depot, before start-ing, a collection was taken up to buy bread and meat for those who at one fell stroke lost their all. The ladies of the Beckham hotel generously contributed a large bundle of clothing. These kinds of donations are appreciated by the suffer-ers, as some of the people have none too many clothes on, much less a change.
At a meeting of the relief expedition and the citizens of Emory a committee of the most prominent citizens were appointed to solicit aid from neighboring cities, and receive donations from parties who sympathize with the suffer-ers in their distress. There are about thirty families homeless and some of them in destitute circumstances. Anyone who will aid them will send their donations to either Doss Peoples or W.A. Duffy, Emory, Texas.
Relief Work.
Immediately after the party reached Emory and viewed the awful situation, a number of prominent Greenville citizens including T.E. Byrd, chairman, O.C. Reeves, J.G. Matthews, T.C. Thornton, G.M. Price and W.H. Goolsby were appointed to solicit subscriptions from the business men, and a committee of ladies and gentlemen were appointed to make a house to house canvas for clothing, bedding, provisions, money and anything that would be useful to those who had lost everything.
All the members on the different committees went to work in earnest Monday morning, and every one who was solicited for aid was only too willing to render any assistance in their power. The merchants gave provisions, money, household goods, clothing and numer-ous other necessary commodities. At the residences, the kind and sympa-thetic ladies freely parted with ready-made dresses, childrens clothing, underwear, bed clothing, mattress, provi-sions, money and dozens of differ-ent necessaries which they knew would come in handy.
Lots of people who were not seen by the committees sent their donations to the depot, which presented a lively appearance all during the day. Boys, ladies and men came from different portions of the city with their arms full of goods. The M., K. & T. railway company, through the kindness of Train-master Bennett, who took the responsibil-ity upon himself to offer to transport free of charge any and every-thing that was donated by the hospital people of Greenville, again deserves especial mention for his generosity to the stricken people of Emory.
The American Express company also offered to carry every donation free of charge.
A correct estimation of the value of the household goods, clothing, provi-sions and other articles cannot be made, but it will reach something near $800.
The donations in cash amounted to $503 with three other committeemen to report. Rev. J.A. Stafford and Erve W. Harrison left on the train Monday after-noon with the goods and money, and will turn it over to the committee at Emory, who will see that it is properly distributed among the sufferers who are in need.
Assistance.
E.W. Harrison, W.M. Arnold and R.D. Campbell, members of the commit-tee who accompanied the contri-butions from this city to the cyclone sufferers at Emory, returned Tuesday morning. They found the relief commit-tee at Emory well organized, and turned all of the money and other contributions over to them. All of the injured were getting along nicely when they left, and it was thought that no more deaths would result.
Mr. Campbells little girl, Tiny, who was the most seriously injured, was still in a critical condition, but it is thought now that she may possibly recover. The other members of his family are getting along nicely.
Mr. Harrison stated that Greenvilles contributions were the first to reach Emory, and that the committee could not find words to express their gratitude. He said the scene was a touching one.
Men, women and children offered their heartfelt thanks and wished that Gods richest blessings would ever rest upon the kind and magnanimous people of Greenville who so generously assisted them in their dire moment of helpless-ness and distress. He said that if any person who contributed from this city could have witnessed the scene they would have been repaid a thousand fold for their kindness.
The mayor of Dallas had tele-graphed the committee that substantial assistance could be expected from that city.
Mineola would also come to their assistance with lumber, shingles and other necessary articles, as would a number of other places that had been heard from.
A liberal contribution was received from the little town of Royse while the Greenville committee were at Emory.
Mr. Harrison said that the total amount of cash that was contributed by Greenville was $811, and the provisions and other articles would aggregate some-thing near the same amount.
Workmen have begun clearing away the debris, but the building of the houses has not begun on account of the lumber not being received.
Mr. Dave Lowenstein, of the firm of Hunnicut & Lowenstein, sent two sacks of meat to the Emory storm sufferers Sunday morning last. The meat was not bought as an item for sale but was Mr. Lowensteins personal contribution.